This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

The Snake Catcher & the Snakes

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ
ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Mawlana Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi (q.s.) related a story of a snake catcher
who once went to the mountains. Due to
the winter cold and heavy snow, many very big snakes lay motionless, as if they
were dead. The snake-catcher picked up
one of these seemingly lifeless snakes and took it to Baghdad, with the purpose
of using it for a show. Showing it off,
he made big claims as to how he had deftly captured the snake, captivating the
attention of his audience.

However, when the sun began to shine and its
warmth cloaked the snake, the coldness in its body disappeared. The signs of life were soon apparent and when
the snake began to move, the snake-catcher and all those around, fled. Mawlana ar-Rumi (q.s.) then explained that our nafs
is like that snake. With tadzkiyyah
and mushaqqat, our nafs becomes frozen. It appears to be dead. But give it a little heat from the fire of
sin and it will bite again. A little
exposure to some past sins and the nafs
swings back to life.

It is foolish to believe we have killed our nafs and, thus, become unmindful. With some mujahadah,
swuhbah of the shaykh, tilawat of the
Qur’an, dzikrullah, following the shari’ah and cultivating love for Allah
(s.w.t.) and Rasulullah (s.a.w.), the nafs can be frozen. However,
a little taste of sin easily revives the nafs.